Tracing the origins of the kumara

Tracing the origins of the kumara

Genetic analysis of kumara by Massey scientists will determine whether they are varieties cultivated by Mäori in pre-European New Zealand or varieties descended from those that travelled with early 19th Century whalers and sealers.

The question of their origin is at the heart of a Waitangi Tribunal claim to flora and fauna, and PhD student Andrew Clarke will be able to provide an answer within the year.

A researcher in the Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution at the University’s Palmerston North campus, Mr Clarke is analysing the DNA of the Polynesian kumara to trace the movements of pre-European Polynesians. Using DNA fingerprinting, he is testing the theory that the kumara was introduced to Polynesia from South America about 1000 years ago. His research, supervised by Biology Professor David Penny, demonstrates how DNA from plants and animals that Polynesians took with them on their voyages can be used to reconstruct patterns of human movement in the Pacific.

Mr Clarke is studying the leaves of three varieties of kumara (Hutihuti, Taputini and Rekamaroa) that are not grown commercially but are maintained by the Government’s Crop and Food Research Institute and Mäori groups. He says the Owairaka Red, the most common variety on supermarket shelves, is definitely related to a type introduced by Europeans in the 1860s.

“It’s clear that Mäori had some kumara varieties before European arrival but it is also clear that American varieties were introduced. So we are looking to find exactly when this happened,” Mr Clarke says.

“It’s a case of answering ethno-botanical questions with genetic tools.” He says the historical evidence of the kumara’s journey currently being presented in the Tribunal case, gathered through written material such as shipping records, complements evidence based on genetics genetic research.

The Allan Wilson Centre is a Government-funded Centre of Research Excellence directed by Massey Professors David Penny and Mike Hendy and which combines expertise from Massey, Auckland, Victoria, Canterbury and Otago universities.

ENDS

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